Jack vs (?) Douglas Best of the Best (Split)

So Jeff, what do you say, our teams in this contest next year?



I wish......

Jeff_in_KC said:

Holy hell! No offense to the Jack but this event is THE event to shoot for IMO! Amazing competition! Walk at this one and you've accomplished something!

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Jeff, you haven't cooked competition very long. A Jack Daniel's invitation is the goal for most BBQ teams. It takes years to get the respect and tradition that the Jack has. Ask anyone who has a jug, or if your a golfer a green jacket.

I don't think our team has to worry about either contest for a very long while.

Jeff_in_KC said:

Oh hell yeah, I'd be thrilled to no end with a Jack Invite. Knew that even before I started competing. It's just that the level of competition at the event in Georgia is beyond what the Jack has... wouldn't you agree? The thing is, most of the top teams at the Jack will also be at the Best of the Best contest... and THEN SOME. Hell, we could have easily been cooking at the Jack this year. We went to Michigan to compete at Grand Rapids for several reasons but it was on my mind that if we won, we'd have a 50/50 chance of getting drawn. We ended up tenth of the 56 teams but had we done better, the winner of Grand Rapids ended up being the draw for Michigan. And Big Creek BBQ certainly isn't included in the "big name" status of BBQ! :lol:

Didn't realize I was going to upset anyone with that comment...

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Jeff - I understand exactly what you're saying... I was thinking the same thing myself.. No doubt that the Jack championship definitely has mystique about it and it's been around 15+ years so I also know where RD is coming from...

However I think the Best of the Best truly allows for greater sampling of the top teams as they each got their through consistency and not just one contest win. The part about some teams needing to hang on to the edge of your seat to see if you qualified from a drawing of straws so to speak always seemed a bit odd but then again having multiple state championships seems odd to me as well but I go with the flow....

Question - Is Best of the Best the top 5 or 10 teams in these sanctioning bodies ?

Although I agree with Rich WHOLEHEARTEDLY...the Jack is THE ultimate competition team's goal in life, I also have to agree with Jeff to a certain point.

If (a VERY BIG IF) we get invited to go to Lynchburg next year because we are drawn for New York, then that would be the be-all end-all for me personally... the Jack is the most prestigious of all events, the one where you might BECOME somebody, after all ... it is the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP of BBQ.

BUT...

The Best of the Best is a totally different critter. In the invitational you compete against teams that have cooked their way to the top of their respective organizations with consistent results for the whole season, not just one state championship (in some cases). Then, they change the rules on ya. It is NOT a KCBS competition. There are a lot of differences in the way you play in Douglas...8 judges, not 6; and it is comparative, I believe; no garnish whatsoever, much bigger boxes, I could go on and on...

Another way to look at it is that some teams can only make it to one of the two.... and the Jack would be the first choice, wouldn't it? So, does that make BOTB a 'leftovers' event? I think not. Look at the list.

Last year, I not only got to meet and talk to incredible people such as Chris Lilly, Kyle and Steph, BBQuau, (the list is so long) , we actually got to compete against them, which was the best test of our BBQ.

I don't know if I have a real point here, I just know it was freakin' great to place where we did in Douglas last year. It's something that I tell everyone about, top ten of the best in the country. No small feat.

(AND... tiny violin please ... I have no Jack stories as of 2006)

Hey, thanks for listening. what an interesting thread though if anyone wants to chime in. people are always going to have different opinions, and I love to hear them all.

ciao fer now peeps!

lunchlady

Question - Is Best of the Best the top 5 or 10 teams in these sanctioning bodies ?

I believe it starts with the top 5, then, if they don't fill up, they open it up to the top 10. Don't quote me, Kell is the one who knows fer sure. I still consider myself to be a newbie... lunchmeat has only been in this since early '04... not nearly long enough to spout off as much as I do...

lunchlady

I dont think CBBQA has anyone cooking at the Best
We have some Judges there.
We have The Burbank Bad Boys and QN4U at the Jack .

Jeff_in_KC said:

It's just that the level of competition at the event in Georgia is beyond what the Jack has... wouldn't you agree?

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No I don't agree. You are confusing the invited teams verses the competing teams. Just about all of the invited Jack teams go to the contest and this includes all the top teams. Only about 50%of the invited of the BoB teams compete and that's when they extend the invitations to the top ten places. This year about 70 teams were invited to BoB, how many are competing? Look at last year's field and last years JD field and tell my what is stronger.

I think I was invited to BoB in it's first year (2003) and I didn't consider it, buy that's just me. I am most proud of my JD overall finish in 2004 more so then my GC's. Just like the Masters (another golf analogy) the JD is more then a cooking contest.

The Jack is for sure the place to be this time of the year for Teams but the Best of The Best should over time be just as well received. Both are invitationals but with different ways of being invited. As the Best of The Best becomes more attended by the top five in all Sanctioning Bodies it will be right up there with the Jack in its importance and Value to the Teams.
I got invited to the Best of the best this year by being Sixth overall in the open last year. Out of 27 teams in the Open that also competed in the Invitational I was ahead of 22 of them, I am not saying that I am better than them but on that day I was and feel that my invite gives the new guys that can cook a chance to prove that we might not be a flash in the pan.
Anyway I'll be there and feel Honored to be invited and to compete against Very Good Teams from across the country.
Walt
PORK AVENUE BBQ
DOTHAN ALABAMA

LostNation said:

....the JD is more then a cooking contest.

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I am with you my friend, but I think, in time, BOTB will have a little prestige of it's own going on. We had to compete last year against Chris Lilly, Myron Mixon, Kyle and Steph, Smokin' Triggers, Bar-B-Quau, Purple Turtle, Lotta Bull... I am too new still to know which teams in other orgs are the best (consistently), but I do know that many of these are teams that have already been to the Jack...that alone was enough to get us to drive 1100 miles to see what we could do against them.

Like I said before...the Jack is the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OF BBQ...like the World Series (I just don't golf Rich, baseball is my game)...but the BOTB is kinda like all Divisional Series bunched into one. In my opinion.
Totally different, but still worthy. I wish I had a list of teams from both events last year, that would be fun to go through.

I just love to stir the pot....:wink:

lunchlady

Moderator's Note:
I split this to it's own thread, interesting discussion on it's own.
TIM

I have no direct experience with any of the "championship" events.
But, this may just be discussing Apples and Oranges.
Could be wrong.

Each event, the Jack, AR, Best of the Best, and several other biggies have their own aura, mystique, and reputation.
I would be proud to earn an invite to any of them!
Dave and I will attend (at least once) if we are ever so blessed.

For now, we will just hang with Purple Turtle, Lunchmeat, HomeBBQ, Pork Avenue, and the other great teams competing at Douglas and have a good time :lol:

What I do know about Douglas is that they seem to really take care of the teams and have a great prize fund for a relatively small field.

TIM